


Night Time Legends

by Arghnon



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Benzaiten - Freeform, Dragons, F/F, Instances of swearing, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, POV Second Person, Yofune-Nushi, mild depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 09:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7527607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arghnon/pseuds/Arghnon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You are Tanaka Saeko.</p><p>At night, when you sleep, you think your soul rises from your body to high above to walk endlessly until it finds what it needs. It’s the only explanation you have for opening your eyes to the sight of your town hundreds maybe thousands of feet under you every time you fall asleep."</p><p>or some people inherit the souls of legends and help them carry their story onwards when they sleep. Saeko is one of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Time Legends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ideallyqualia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/gifts).



The town of Torono sprawls beneath your feet and though it looks like a tiny slightly lighter smudge against the jet black of night, you know that right below you is your house. You can feel it like a tug to your heart. A faint one. There’s another tug that pulls you much harder in a single direction and as is with every other night you start following it.

But as you step forward, there’s a rush of wind moving so fast it’s like a bullet train racing right in front of you causing your clothes to beat hard against your skin. And then it’s curling around you, rising up around you. The length of it is so long that it surrounds all your vision in a whirlwind of white. 

Suddenly it’s gone.

You rush to see any trace of it and all you find is a slither of the same stark white fading into the sky ahead of you. You’re left panting and out of breath from the excitement of it all. The adrenaline it gave you is pumping in your veins and you feel bright with energy to the tips of your fingers.

You step forward again only to feel water on your feet. 

 

You are Tanaka Saeko.

At night, when you sleep, you think your soul rises from your body to high above to walk endlessly until it finds what it needs. It’s the only explanation you have for opening your eyes to the sight of your town hundreds maybe thousands of feet under you every time you fall asleep. 

(You may be exaggerating the number but you assure that it is very very high and you never were good at math)

When this happens, you are still Tanaka Saeko but you are also Tokoyo. 

You know this like you know the back of your hand or that your little brother is the hottest shit there is and the world just doesn’t known it yet. It is information carved deep in you that you would never forget because it is not something you can forget. It’s instinct, almost. Intrinsic, if you’re using the word right.

When you rise into the sky you are still Tanaka Saeko and you are also Tokoyo and you move like you’re on a mission. Your entire body is tugged to move forward to somewhere. You don’t know where this somewhere is. Not you as Saeko and not you as Tokoyo. But it feels like it’s very important to go there and get there as soon as you can.

You’ve had these strange dreams since you were twelve and you still haven’t reached that somewhere. You never rush to the destination. You always travel as if you are searching but you don’t know what direction it’s in. Though the tugging says otherwise. You spend the entire night walking in a simple kimono and a dagger tied at your side. The clothes of Tokoyo. 

You’re not the only one moving in the night high up there. You’ve seen others walking around in costumes just as old fashioned. Some are running in urgency and others are walking as seemingly mindlessly as you do. You swear you’ve seen Benkei rushing through the night on his stead. He looked like he was going into war. 

(You also swear you’ve seen him looking at the dairy section at the grocery store out of town.)

As Saeko you feel curious about this world no matter how many times you enter it. As Tokoyo you feel determined. You feel like you’ve lost something important but it’s within reach if only you tried hard enough. You’ll get there, you hope.

Tonight is a little different. Tonight you are in Sendai having stayed over after dropping off your brother’s kouhai. And the pull at your heart is stronger than ever. You think you might be close, closer than you’ve ever been before. You might actually reach whatever it is you need to get to. 

Finally, there in the distance you see two people walking solemnly. One much taller than the other but both wear white all over. Mourning clothes. The taller one’s hair is very puffy and curly much like an afro. When he hears you approach them, he turns and you want to scream in surprise. It’s the broccoli-headed high schooler from your brother’s training camp!

But you don’t scream. Though you recognise him, Tokoyo doesn’t. 

Your mouth opens against your will and you introduce yourself as Tokoyo. It’s like one of those games Ryuu plays where you can’t see the face of your own character and when the storyline plays all you see of yourself are your hands moving about. You ask where they are going.

“This girl here must be sacrificed to Yofune-Nushi to keep the peace and the lives of the townspeople.” The broccoli-head answered. 

At this the girl at his side breaks down and wails in sorrow. You immediately scoop her into your arms and stroke her hair. You won’t let her be sacrificed. You and Tokoyo both. 

“I’ll do it. I have nothing left anyways.” Okay, well that didn’t make sense to you but you guess Tokoyo has their own reasons for things. Either way you’re not letting this girl suffer through this. Whatever this Yofune-Nushi thing is, you’ll kick its ass.

The man explains that Yofune-Nushi is at the bottom of the cliff up ahead. You look ahead. There is no cliff in sight. You walk forward anyways. The further you get the more you see the change in the invisible floor you walk. It is no longer a straight down view of the town below but it becomes slightly altered. You realise it looks like water.

It’s like the edge of a beach where the water begins and you somehow can sense that it becomes much deeper. You’re not afraid though. You roll up your sleeves and the bottoms of your hakama. You’re ready.

(Okay, maybe you’re a little afraid and a little not ready.)

With a deep breath you close your eyes and face the sky maybe to feel some courage or something flow into you miraculously. You give out a long soft exhale and open your eyes slowly. You think you see a streak of white shoot pass above you. You feel exhilarated. 

You face the fake-water thing and dive.

It is a strange feeling. You are swimming deep into the water but there is no water in sight. All you can see is the night sky surrounding you and as you swim deeper you get closer and closer to the buildings and houses below. 

You see something catch the corner of your eye. It’s a wooden statue. It looks familiar to you and Tokoyo. Tokoyo feels disdain towards the statue but you look at the chubby face, giant mole and shiny bald head and think of Ryuu’s vice principal. Is this the Yofune-Nushi they’re sacrificing girls for? You think maybe if you bring it up and smash it or something they’ll stop terrorising young girls to be sacrifices.

It must be a hollow statue or your dream self is super strong because swimming back up to the surface with it is easier than you expected. This whole defeat the Yofune-Nushi thing is easier than expected. 

(Of course, that thought would jinx your entire quest.)

You’re not even a quarter back up when you feel the water ripple. All of a sudden a large barrel of waves push you back so hard you have to use the statue to shield your face. 

That’s when you see it. 

A large serpent with scales that glow a sickly green and eyes pitch black fills almost the entirety of your vision. Its head is twitching side to side as if trying to smell or feel something, its large nostrils flaring and its whiskers twitching. Those whiskers were probably several meters long and what you can see of its body is seemingly endless.

‘Okay,’ you think, ‘this is probably Yofune-Nushi.’

You’re backing up before you even know it. Your grip on the statue and the dagger at your side tightens. It’s coming closer and it’s larger than you thought it was. Its head stills. Then in an instant, it lunges at you. You propel upwards just enough for it to miss and you throw down the wooden statue as hard as you can, aiming for its skull. The statue simply hits one of those massive whiskers hard and the serpent is briefly stunned. Its senses are temporarily blinded.

You waste no time at all. You swim with all you can up towards the surface. Where did you dive off? Where is land? Can you reach it in time? You look back and see the creature twitch its head as before. It’s searching for you. Your entire mind is filled with streams of curses. You look up.

You see a girl. Fair and blonde and dressed in an extravagant white kimono with layers and robes. A white snake curls around her shoulders. She’s looking down into the water curiously, somehow sitting on the surface of the water with her legs curled underneath her. You meet her gaze. One of her eyes is blue and the other is brown. You think she might be the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen. She beams at you.

(You are suddenly reminded of rushing winds and moving walls of white.)

You don’t have time to appreciate how gorgeous that smile is as you can feel the water ripple once more. The serpent shoots past you as you dive to the side just quick enough to dodge by an inch from its jaws. You grab onto its whiskers and it starts thrashing but you won’t let go. You climb up the whisker to get closer until you can see its large black eye reflect your own face. You grab your dagger and draw your arm as far back as you can and slam the dagger straight into the eye. 

The serpent screeches and thrashes harder but you manage to slice the whisker off before you let go. You swim as hard as you can to get some distance. Once you think it’s enough you turn around and face it again. The giant snake is still writhing in pain and it screeches into the water. It gains enough sense back to charge at you again but this time you’re more than ready.

Again you dodge its head and grab its remaining whisker. You use it to let you swing and settle onto the serpent’s back. Grabbing tight onto the scales you stab it once more at the side of its neck. It screeches again and the thrashing gets wilder. You drag the dagger across its neck as best as you can and kick its head down before swimming off. 

The serpent screams once more. Its jaws aimed right at you. Its entire body is trembling and shaking in pain and then it stops. You watch the dark blood flow out of the wound in its neck against the lights of the houses below. 

You look back up at the surface. The girl is gone.

(And that fluttering sense of disappointment in your chest is ignored.)

You decide bringing back the sea snake thing and the statue to the surface will prove that Yofune-Nushi has been defeated. You hope that either one is Yofune-Nushi. It would be really really annoying if it wasn’t. With some pulling and twisting, you manage to pluck the head right off.

You swim back to the surface and the broccoli-head cries out at the sight of you. The other girl is there too and she cries in relief. They congratulate you with pats on the back and say they will inform the other villagers. They offer you gifts of gratitude, the boy even going as far as offering his own hand in marriage despite being a priest and you turn them all down. You’re too young to marry. 

You watch as they go.

 

You don’t know what to do now.

The tugging is gone and the night is still young. The sun isn’t even peeking at the horizon yet. You guess maybe you’ll walk around.

But just as you turn around you meet a chest. A very nice chest. And you look up to see a face. An equally nice face. That is beaming at you with that same smile. Oh Gods it’s that pretty girl.

“Congratulations!” she says. Her voice is so light and airy. It sounds like how a cloud would feel. “On finishing your legend, Tokoyo!”

You have no idea what’s she talking about but she’s pretty so you go with it. 

“Legend, huh? And the name’s Saeko as well so you can call me that.”

“Oh!” She literally says it in what you think is the most adorable way ever. She grabs both of your arms even though they still kind of have giant sea snake blood on it. “I didn’t explain! How rude of me. Come sit down and I’ll tell you everything.”

She leads you by the hand and you don’t mind at all how soft her skin is. She only lets go when she sits down on the floor. She unfolds her legs and suddenly dips them past the floor into what is now water. She looks like she’s casually sitting at the edge of a lake. 

“Come join me! The water is cool!” And how could you say no to a face like that. 

You sit next to her and are only slightly disappointed that her hands are in her lap and not at her sides for you to ‘accidentally’ brush. You see the white snake coiled up neatly in her lap. The water is cool but not as cold as the dive you just took. 

“So,” you say, “what’s up?”

“Well first, introductions. I am Benten but my name when I’m awake is Haiba Alisa,” she bows her head slightly as she says this.

“This is a dream, then!” you exclaim.

“Yes and no,” she chuckles when she catches a look at your face. You probably look as confused as you feel.

“It is a dream in the sense that it’s not entirely the reality we know of and we can only access it when we sleep but it does exist and isn’t all in your head. It’s why you remember these moments so clearly when you’re awake. This place is for legends and myths to continue carrying out their stories. They live on in generation after generation recreating their stories again and again,” she grins at you, “up here!”

You consider that for a moment. You look out at the vast ocean of transparent water in front of you. The town below looks distorted through it. 

“So I finished my ‘legend’? The legend of Tokoyo? Or the legend of the weird sea snake and statue?” you ask.

“The legend of Yofune-Nushi,” she giggles “and yes. You are finished with it. Now you can roam this realm freely like I do! You’re quite lucky to have finished so smoothly and quickly. It’s not rare for legends to not have their stories finished each generation.”

You simply hum at that. It both makes sense to you and doesn’t. You think you might need a bit of daylight to fully understand.

“Sounds neat. I’ll google it later,” you beam at her.

She looks stunned for a moment but then she laughs sunnily once more. 

“So, Haiba-chan, where you from?” you start.

“Oh, I stay in Tokyo with my brother!”

“You have a brother? Me too! He’s in his second year of highschool! He’s gonna be the ace of his volleyball team next year, I tell you!”

“Oh! Mine is in first year! He says the same thing about his volleyball team!”

“Really?

“Oh, yes! Let me tell you about my Lyovochka…”

 

You see her every night from then on. She travels to Miyagi as a long gorgeous pearl white dragon and wherever she goes, water will follow. You both will talk and talk until the sun peeks from the edges of the city. You learn how much she loves her brother (almost as much as you love Ryuu!) and how she is both fluent in Russian and Japanese. You learn she plays the biwa and that she’s always loved watching Wadaiko performances. You learn how she giggles with her hand covering her mouth and how her cheeks turn a shade pinker when you lean in close to tell her something. 

One day, your bother goes to nationals like you always knew he would. And that’s when you see her. On the other side of the court, on the bleachers right across.

You smile and wave and blow a kiss. 

(It takes her a minute, but she blows a kiss right back.)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I'm not very good at writing but I don't think I could have done this in any other medium T.T I'm your pinch hitter! I saw a F/F ship and I kind of went down on it as fast as I could. You did have quite a list of dislikes so I hope I avoided everything that makes you uncomfortable ;///;
> 
> Saeko is Tokoyo, a girl who defeats Yofune Nushi, the sea dragon, and the statue she finds is of the emperor that has imprisoned her father (who is what she's searching for in this fic. Saeko doesn't know that and she doesn't really need to!) It turns out that it was part of a curse on the emperor and having been the one who found the statue and hence lifted the curse, rescued her father. (I didn't include the father part because of some of the things on your list! hope you're okay with that!
> 
> Alisa is Benten/Benzaiten. She's more commonly known as Benzaiten to a lot of people so Saeko doesn't actually recognize the name Benten when Alisa says it. But she does some research later and then squealing and awe follows. Considered one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, she is sometimes known to be the daughter of a dragon king hence I let her shapeshift into a dragon. She's often depicted with a white snake as well! I tried to make her appear in this fic whenever Saeko is in need of some luck! Benzaiten is also known for playing the Japanese lute also known as a biwa often!
> 
> Benzaiten is also associated with anything that flows hence water is included so the water in the beginning is a sign of her presence. I generally used water in this verse as a sign that dragons are nearby!
> 
> The Benkei that Saeko saw is Reon! He also experiences stuff like this. (Yes, so does broccoli-head and the vice-principal!)


End file.
